Isis wants YOU…or did I dream that?

In Apuleius’ tale that culminates with his protagonist’s initiation into the Mysteries of Isis, we learn that Lucius must remain in the temple of the Goddess—just waiting patiently—until he receives a call from Isis Herself. Only then, when he knew for certain that Isis had invited him, could he undergo the ceremony of his initiation and further cultivate his relationship with the Goddess.

This is a Roman image of Isis. Perhaps this is what Lucius' Isis looked like to him.

Of course, Lucius finally does dream. As he sleeps, the Goddess comes to him, explaining to him through “Her radiant commands in the dark night” as he puts it, that the time for his initiation has finally arrived. She explains how he should prepare and that Her principal priest, Mithras, would aid him in the rites because Mithras was linked to Lucius “by a certain divine association of constellations.” Upon arising, Lucius goes to speak to the priest who, of course, already knows that Isis has called the new initiate.

The ancient Greek travel writer, Pausanias, in his Description of Greece, mentions two instances of people entering Isis sanctuaries in Greece and in Egypt without a specific invitation from the Goddess; it did not go well for them:

They say that once a profane man, who was not one of those descending into the shrine, when the pyre began to burn, entered the shrine to satisfy his rash inquisitiveness. It is said that everywhere he saw ghosts, and on returning to Tithorea [Greece] and telling what he had seen he departed this life. I have heard a similar story from a man of Phoenicia that the Egyptians hold the feast for Isis at a time when they say she is mourning for Osiris. At this time the Nile begins to rise, and it is a saying among many of the natives that what makes the river rise and water their fields is the tears of Isis. At that time then, so said my Phoenician, the Roman governor of Egypt bribed a man to go down into the shrine of Isis in Coptos [Egypt]. The man dispatched into the shrine returned indeed out of it, but after relating what he had seen, he too, so I was told, died immediately. So it appears that Homer’s verse speaks the truth when it says that it bodes no good to man to see godhead face to face. (Pausanias, Book X, Phocus, Ozolian Locri, 32, 10-17.)

I’ve never known the Goddess to be quite so harsh as Pausanias’ anecdotes indicate. However, She does tend to call Her own. And yes, She often calls in dream…or in vision, which we may think of as waking dream. But the point is that She will call. If She wants you; if She knows you want Her; if She has something to teach you; if She knows you need Her at this point in your life (and maybe forever), then She will call.

Just be sure you’re listening. And watching. And expecting.

Once Isis has made Herself known to you—in any one of a million ways—open yourself to hope, to mystery, to magic…and to Her. If this is your path, for now or forever, She will let you know.

Hi Isidora,
My name is Ana. Isis called me and at first I didn’t know who she was or anything about her, but she kept coming to me, and so finally I looked her up on the internet and was led to your book, of which I found an old copy on Amazon.com. Thank you so much for that! It helped explain so many things that didn’t make sense to me before, so I really appreciate that. I thought maybe I was going crazy or something as I’m not wiccan or pagan and don’t even know anyone who is and so couldn’t really talk about it with anyone. My friends and family already know I’m “weird” but this was even beyond what they’re used to with me. So for the most part I just kept my mouth shut about it which is okay because I haven’t found it’s good to share this kind of thing with people who don’t understand anyway.
But I would love to share and talk with other people who have experienced Isis, I just don’t know where to go from here. Do you have any ideas? Feel free to email me anytime – I would so appreciate any guidance or suggestions you might have for me. Thanks, Ana